Saudi Arabia Refuses To Observe FIFA’S One Minute’s Silence For London Attack Victims

Saudi Arabia’s national football team have faced serious criticism after failing to observe a minute’s silence on Thursday’s World Cup qualifier match against Australia in Adelaide.

The Australian national side lined up in the centre of the pitch before the World Cup qualifier and observed a brief silence as a tribute to the two Australians killed in the terrorist attack in London at the weekend.

While they were doing so, the Saudi Arabia team continued jogging, passing the ball between each other and taking their positions on the field. Pictures from the match show a single Saudi player, Salman al-Faraj, appearing to stand facing the Australia team with his hands behind his back.

According to reports Asian Football Confederation has approved the minute’s silence against the wishes of travelling Saudi officials. He said the Football Federation of Australia “tried to reason” with the Saudis but were unable to persuade them to participate in the tribute.